Most chefs have a comprehensive knowledge of wine to go with their food know-how. While I do know a fair bit, beer is more my thing. So I've compiled a list of some of the world's best to share with all of you. Hope it encourages you to go out try some of these, as they're all certainly worth it. Albums are just random awesomeness.

Arrogant Bastard - Arrogant Bastard is of a beautifully polished cherry-wood colour that would look every bit as classy and handsome as a bar top as it does just sitting on one. I'm sure Stone (Bastard's brewery) has already looked into whether it's possible to legally trademark a smell - this audaciously hoppy aroma is distinguished by the sheer pomposity of its wickedly bitter pithiness and unrivaled piney attributes. It smells like someone set a forest (Tim Burton-inspired of course) on fire and grinned the singed and seething remains into the bottle. Imagine encountering a dark, sinister side to pink grapefruit, pine serum and toffee-coated wafers. In fact, Arrogant Bastard is kind of like a vigilante - not everyone will agree with the way it goes about things but few will dispute the overall good brought about. A challenging yet highly rewarding brew. 7.2% ABV

Aventinus - Consistently recognized as one of the top beers in the world, Aventinus is a wheat doppelbock with flavors of bread, caramel, and fruit, and a slightly bitter finish. And the carbonation level makes it very drinkable. A classic. 8.2% ABV

La Fin du Monde - Unibroue in Quebec has to be one of the coolest breweries in the world. They make extraordinary beer with kick-ass packaging to match. This Belgian-style tripel has a wonderful aroma and a taste full of yeast notes, vanilla and a touch of clove. Perfect on its own or with a meal. 9.0% ABV

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen - I can't pronounce it either, but don't let that keep you from drinking it. Simply ask for it at your finer beer store or bar as "that German Smoke Beer," and they'll most likely bring you this: a beer made with malt toasted over an open fire that gives it a pleasantly smoky flavor - like liquid BBQ. 5.4% ABV

Allagash White - The Portland, Maine-based Allagash makes a lot of excellent, wheat-heavy Belgian beers, and this is their flagship: light and bubbly with a beguiling spice mix no one has been able to guess.) 5.2% ABV

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron - Drink this one for its story, as much as for its taste: Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione traveled to the wilds of Paraguay to find one of the hardest, heaviest woods on earth and used it in a tank built to age just this beer. The dark, extra-strong brown ale gets an added kick of vanilla from the wood's unique oils. 12.0% ABV

Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse - Fritz Briem's is Berlin's take on wheat beer: yeasty and super-carbonated but with a uniquely tart, bright finish, making it the perfect summer beer (with no need for a pansy-ass lemon slice). 5.0% ABV

Lion Stout - If you only have one Sri Lankan stout before you kick, make it this one. Creamy and bittersweet, with a rich tan head and notes of fruit. Plus, it comes in cans - perfect for spicing up your next barbecue. 8.0% ABV

Picobrouwerij Alvinne Melchior - Melchior is a solid English-style barleywine - strong, sweet, and malty, with notes of rich, dark fruit - but the extra kick from an infusion of mustard seeds pushes it into mad-science territory. It's so crazy, it has to work. 11.0% ABV

Sixpoint Sweet Action - Sweet and very hoppy, with a little grass and citrus thrown in. It's mellowed a bit from the original recipe - their Double Sweet Action is closer to the roots, but harder to find. 5.2% ABV

Smuttynose Barleywine - This is one of the best barleywines around, but a bit challenging to get into. It's heavy on the caramel, and thick as syrup, like a sherry. Drink it like one, too: This is a perfect dessert beer. 10.0% ABV

Stone Imperial Russian Stout - Heavy, thick, and midnight black. Imperial is an understatement - this is a meal in a bottle. If you can find it, try it barrel-aged for an extra level of bourbony, syrupy goodness. 10.5% ABV

The Brewery Saison Rue - The awards and accolades just keep coming for these young brewers. The line-up is always adventurous, but perfectly restrained rather than overt. Saison Rue is a farmhouse-style beer with hints of rye and wild yeast strains that make for a deliciously complex drink. 8.5% ABV

Cantillon Iris - The Iris is the flower of Brussels, and this annual brew is barrel-aged for two years. While it is spontaneously fermented like other Cantillon lambics, it differs in that it contains only pale malts and a portion of fresh hops (versus wheat and dried hops). It is tart but complex. Substitute this for sparkling wine and your guests will be glad you did. 5.0% ABV

De Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva - A vintage-released Belgian Quadruple Ale that is sent forth into the world at least two years after it was brewed. The combination of flavors is compelling and rich while the carbonation keeps the heft of the beer from crushing the palate - which makes for a surprisingly easy drinking considering the alcohol content. 10.0% ABV

Dieu du Ciel Route des Epices - This Montreal brewery is single-handedly raising the craft-brewing profile of Canada. This selection may not be their best known but it is probably their most intriguing, with its use of peppercorn. The flavoring is unmistakable, and pairs incredibly well with smoked meats. 5.0% ABV

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - If the West Coast Style IPA (arguably) became the USA's contribution to the beer world and is itself an exaggerated version of the English IPA, what is the next level? How about a version boasting 18% alcohol and 120 International Bitterness Units? (Note to non-beer nerds: That's crazy bitter.) Be careful with that 12-oz. bottle. 18.0% ABV

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Grand Reserve - Visitors to this Dexter, Michigan, brewery could be forgiven for mistaking it for a winery. Ron Jeffries barrel-ages every release. Most batches are then blended to provide consistency, but all have wonderful tart elements that the used barrels help to impart. La Roja is a delicious sour brown ale in a line-up of excellent brews. 8.0% ABV

Orval - Only one beer is made at this Trappist brewery, but that is more than enough. Orval is a worldwide classic Belgian Ale. Proprietary yeasts imparted during secondary fermentation give Orval its subtle and distinctive sourness. 6.9% ABV

Russian River Pliny the Elder - Perhaps the most well known and sought out double IPA on the planet. The reputation is well earned, as the brewers have found the magic spot between huge flavors and drinkability. This is a hop head's dream. 8.0% ABV

Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout - This medium- to full-bodied brew first hits you with a huge toasty espresso taste and then with a bitter, hoppy finish. The Colorado-based Great Divide recommends drinking it for breakfast, but with its alcohol content, you might need to take a nap for lunch. 9.5% ABV

Trois Pistoles - Another offering from Unibroue, and perhaps my favorite beer ever, Trois Pistoles is a dark Belgian with some full-bodied flavor. It introduces itself with notes of dark fruit, raisins and plum that begin to meld with caramel malts and bittering hops. Alcohol emerges with a decidedly bourbon-based character. Middle moves into suggestions of candied fruit and prunes. Finishes bitter and coarse with a scratch of husky grain. Superb stuff. 9.0% ABV

Dog Fish Indian Brown over the Palo Santo any day(though it's still very very good.) Also their Punkin maybe my favorite Fall Seasonal.

Loving the Allagash love tho as I think that's one of the better Belgian whites you can get in the US and the Smuttynose Barely Wine is a great choice as well. The Rauchbier Marzen is amazing. Though was never really all that impressed with Aventinus.

Arrogant Bastard is easily in my top 5 beers ever too. I'll be sure to try what I haven't had, especially this Great Divide Yeti Stout, sounds amazing.

i'd say about 70% of the beer i buy is brewed by bell's, which is based in kalamazoo. there isn't a better american brewery as far as i'm concerned. PLUS their stuff is always on tap at most of the bars in MI worth patronizing.

Yeah, I think every country has the good and the bad. People can knock the U.S. for bad beer or whatever, but really it's just like anywhere else: plenty of bad but also plenty of amazing choices. You just have to know what you want and what to look for.

lol I love a lot of what most people would probably refer to as "low-quality" German, Gelgian or Dutch beers. St. Paulie Girl, Beck's, Stella Artois, Grolsch etc. I also really like Peroni. But I'm far from a beer expert.

Guiness is ok, but way too filling considering it has the alcohol content of a Bud Light. Murphy's is good, and I like Kilkenny too.

^ your chances of finding US Craft Brews (or anything close as many would discount Sam Adam, Sierra Nevada and Dog Fish as "craft" because of their size--I'm not one of them) outside of North America are slim to none. There are plenty of amazing West Coast beers I cannot find in the eastern US and vice-versa. Their distribution is just not large enough.

though I'm sure there's shops in Germany that carry US micro-brews (I found a Samuel Adams Holiday 12-Pack and Dogfish 60s in a liquor store in Munich...don't ask me the name I was wwwassstteedd)

I'm sure they exist--it is Germany after all. Worse comes to worst befriend a bar owner/worker and ask them to stock your beer. My experience is as long as you drink it they'll continue to order kegs/bottles.

or you could just hop a train over to Belgium where the beer gets Super Serious Yall. (mmmmmmmm)